List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame explained

The Hockey Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to the history of ice hockey. It was established in 1943 and is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally, there were two categories for induction, players and builders, and in 1961, a third category for on-ice officials was introduced. In 2010, a subcategory was established for female players.[1] In 1988, a "veteran player category" was established in order to "provide a vehicle for players who may have been overlooked and whose chances for election would be limited when placed on the same ballot with contemporary players". Eleven players were inducted into the category, but in 2000 the board of directors eliminated it and those inductees are now considered to be in the player category.

For a person to be inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame, he or she must be nominated by an elected 18-person selection committee which includes Hockey Hall of Fame members and media personalities. Each committee member is allowed to nominate one person in each category per year, and candidates must receive the support of 75% of the members of the committee that are present, or a minimum of ten votes. In any given year, there can be a maximum of four male players, two female players, and a combined two in the builders and on-ice officials categories. For a player, referee, or linesman to be nominated, the person must have been retired for a minimum three years. Builders may be "active or inactive". The induction ceremony is held at the current Hall of Fame building and was first broadcast by The Sports Network in 1994.

The Hockey Hall of Fame also displays "Media honourees", who have been awarded the "Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award", which is awarded by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association to "distinguished members of the newspaper profession whose words have brought honour to journalism and to hockey",[2] or the "Foster Hewitt Memorial Award", which is awarded by the NHL Broadcasters' Association to "members of the radio and television industry who made outstanding contributions to their profession and the game during their career in hockey broadcasting".[3] However, the media honourees are not considered full inductees, and are not included in this list. The winners are announced and honoured at different times than the other honourees.[4] Foster Hewitt is the only media honouree inducted in his own right into the Hall, as a builder.[5]

As of 2024, there are 306 players (including twelve women), 117 builders and 16 on-ice officials in the Hockey Hall of Fame. 17 honourees have been inducted posthumously.

Members

Players

The player category has been in existence since the beginning of the Hall of Fame and the first nine players were inducted in 1945. For a person to be inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a player, they must have been retired for a minimum of three years and must be nominated by an elected 18-person selection committee. The waiting period was waived for ten players deemed exceptionally notable: Dit Clapper (1947), Maurice Richard (1961), Ted Lindsay (1966), Red Kelly (1969), Terry Sawchuk (1971), Jean Beliveau (1972), Gordie Howe (1972), Bobby Orr (1979), Mario Lemieux (1997), and Wayne Gretzky (1999).[6] Following Wayne Gretzky's retirement, it was announced that the waiting period would no longer be waived for any player except under "certain humanitarian circumstances".

As of 2012, a maximum of four players can be inducted in one year but the greatest number of players inducted in a year was 23, in 1963. They were inducted because the Hall of Fame was trying to induct many pre-NHL era players. Sometimes noted as 1962 inductees, the pre-NHL era players were named at the 1962 Hall of Fame luncheon at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), but were inducted one year later, in 1963 at the CNE. 232 of the player inductees are Canadian-born, while 16 European-born players have been inducted. The NHL team with the most player inductees is the Toronto Maple Leafs (previously the Toronto St. Patricks and Toronto Arenas), with 60. Seventy-seven defencemen are in the Hall of Fame, more than any other current position, while only 36 goaltenders have been inducted.

In 1988, a "veteran player category" was established in order to "provide a vehicle for players who may have been overlooked and whose chances for election would be limited when placed on the same ballot with contemporary players". Eleven players were inducted into the category, but in 2000, the board of directors eliminated it, and now those inductees are considered to be in the player category.

Positions key
scope=row C Centre
scope=row LWLeft wing
scope=row DDefence
scope=row RWRight wing
scope=row GGoaltender
scope=row RRover
scope=row FForward
YearNamePositionNationality
1945FUnited States
GCanada/Great Britain
D–LWCanada
C–RCanada
CCanada
LW–RWCanada
DCanada
DCanada
GCanada
1947[7] C–RCanada
D–RWCanada
LWCanada
CCanada
D–G–RCanada
DCanada
C–D–RCanada
CCanada
DCanada
1950RWCanada
DCanada
DCanada
D–RCanada/United States
CCanada
CCanada
DCanada
C–RCanada
1952DCanada
RWCanada
D–LWUnited States
DCanada
C–RCanada
CCanada
1958CCanada
DCanada
DCanada
GCanada
DCanada
CCanada
CCanada
DCanada
LWCanada
CCanada
DCanada
CCanada
GCanada
DCanada
GCanada
1959CCanada
LWCanada
GCanada
1960DCanada
DCanada
C–LW–RCanada
1961CCanada
RWCanada
DCanada
GCanada
D–RWCanada/Great Britain
G–RWCanada
RCanada
RWCanada
CCanada
CCanada
RCanada
1962RWCanada
RWCanada
RCanada
C–D–LWCanada
LWCanada
RWCanada
1963DCanada
C–LWCanada
RWCanada
LWCanada
RWCanada
C–DCanada
FCanada
GCanada
FCanada
GCanada
D–LWCanada
CCanada
D–R–RWCanada
CCanada
DCanada
DCanada
DCanada
D–RWCanada
CCanada
CCanada
G–RCanada
RCanada
DCanada
1964LWCanada
GCanada
D–LWCanada
DCanada
1965CCanada
GCanada
FCanada
DCanada
D–LWCanada
C–DCanada
RWCanada
C–RWCanada
C–RCanada
FCanada
1966CCanada
LWCanada
DCanada
GUnited States
CCanada
CCanada
LWCanada
DCanada
DCanada
1967GCanada
C–DCanada
RWCanada
1968CCanada
1969C–LWCanada
RWCanada
C–DCanada
GCanada
1970RWCanada
DCanada
DCanada
1971LWCanada
LWCanada
GCanada
CCanada
1972CCanada
RWCanada
GCanada
RWCanada
C–D–RWCanada
1973DCanada
GCanada
C–R–LWCanada
1974C–DCanada/United States
DCanada
CCanada/Australia
LWCanada
1975RWCanada
LWCanada
RWCanada
GCanada
DCanada
1976GCanada
DCanada
1977C–LWCanada
DCanada
1978RWCanada
GCanada
DCanada
1979DCanada
DCanada
CCanada
1980GCanada
C–LWCanada
GCanada
1981LWCanada
LWCanada
DCanada
1982RWCanada
RWCanada
CCanada
1983GCanada
LWCanada
CCanada/Slovakia
1984CCanada
CCanada
GCanada
1985GCanada
LWCanada
CCanada
1986DCanada
CCanada
DCanada
1987CCanada
GCanada
DCanada
1988GCanada
RWCanada
CCanada
DCanada
1989LWCanada
CCanada
GRussia/USSR
1990LWCanada
DCanada
CCanada
1991RWCanada
DCanada
C–LWCanada
CCanada
1992CCanada
LWCanada
LWCanada
RWCanada
1993DCanada
CCanada
LWCanada
GCanada
1994DCanada
LWCanada
1995LWCanada
DCanada
1996RWCanada
DSweden
1997CCanada
CCanada
1998LWCanada
LWCanada
CSlovakia/Czechoslovakia
1999CCanada
2000RWUnited States
CCanada
2001DRussia/USSR
RWCanada
CCanada
RWFinland
2002CCanada
LWCanada
DUnited States
2003GCanada
CUnited States
2004DCanada
DCanada
DCanada
2005LWUSSR
RWCanada
2006LWCanada
GCanada
2007CCanada
DCanada
CCanada
DCanada
2008RWCanada
CRussia/USSR
2009RWUnited States/Canada
DUnited States
LWCanada
CCanada
2010RWCanada
CCanada
CUnited States
2011GCanada
CCanada
DUnited States
CCanada
2012RWRussia/USSR
CCanada
CCanada
CSweden
2013DUnited States
DCanada
DCanada
LWCanada
2014DCanada
CSweden
GCzech Republic/Czechoslovakia
CUnited States
2015CRussia/USSR
DUnited States
DSweden
DCanada
DUnited States
2016CCanada
RWRussia/USSR
GCanada
2017LWCanada
FCanada
LWCanada
RWCanada
RWFinland
2018GCanada
RWCanada
RWCanada
LWUSSR
2019CCanada
CCzech Republic/Czechoslovakia
CCanada
DRussia
2020RWSlovakia
RWCanada
DCanada
GCanada
DCanada
2022RWSweden
GCanada
CFinland
LWSweden
CSweden
2023GUnited States
GSweden
FCanada
CCanada
GCanada
2024FUnited States
CRussia
CUnited States
DCanada
FUnited States

A. Player was inducted into the Veteran Player category. In 2000, it was merged with the Player category.

Source: 1945–2003: Honoured Members: Hockey Hall of Fame and newspapers.

Builders

The builder category has been in existence since the beginning of the Hall of Fame and the first builders were inducted in 1945. A builder is a person who has contributed to the development of the game of hockey, and as the name refers, one who has built the game forward. Since then, 102 builders have been inducted. For a person to be inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder, they may be "active or inactive" and must be nominated by an elected 18-person selection committee. As of 2007, a maximum of two builders can be inducted in one year.

YearName
1945
1947
1950
1958
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2022
2023
2024

Former members

On March 30, 1993, it was announced that Gil Stein, who at the time was the president of the National Hockey League, had been inducted into the Hall of Fame. There were immediate allegations that he had engineered his election through manipulation of the hall's board of directors and by telling them to change the rules for selection. Two lawyers, hired by the league to lead an investigation, recommended that Stein's selection be overturned, although it was soon revealed that Stein had previously decided to turn down the induction.[8]

In 1989, Alan Eagleson was inducted as a builder, but he resigned from the Hall in 1998 after pleading guilty of mail fraud and embezzlement of hundreds of thousands of dollars, these crimes having been perpetrated against NHL players and tournaments. His resignation came shortly before a vote was held to expel him.[9]

On-ice officials

The on-ice official category has been in existence since 1961 and since then sixteen have been inducted. For an official to be inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame, they must be retired for a minimum of three years and must be nominated by an elected 18-person selection committee. As of 2007, a maximum of one on-ice official can be inducted in one year.

YearName
1961
1962
1963
1964
1967
1973
1981
1987
1988
1991
1993
1999
2008
2014

References

Note: For the years after 2003, the Hockey Hall of Fame web site is accurate., the web site is inaccurate for the years before, for the players inducted prior to the establishment of the Toronto Hall, for example Nels Stewart, who was inducted in 1952, not 1962 as is listed on the HHOF web site. This may have led to other publications stating the wrong years of induction. The book Honoured Members: Hockey Hall of Fame, published by the Hockey Hall of Fame itself, lists the players accurately.

Notes and References

  1. News: Will a female finally be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame?. McGran, Kevin. Toronto Star. June 20, 2010. June 22, 2010.
  2. Web site: Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award winners . January 6, 2008 . Hockey Hall of Fame . Legends of Hockey . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071230101939/http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/leg_writers.htm . December 30, 2007 .
  3. Web site: Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winners . January 6, 2008 . Hockey Hall of Fame . Legends of Hockey . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100705232153/http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/leg_broadcasters.htm . July 5, 2010 .
  4. Web site: Hockey Hall of Fame Announces Legends Classic Tour 2005 Featuring Canada Vs. Russia. January 6, 2008. September 7, 2005. Hockey Hall of Fame. Legends of Hockey. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20051028022116/http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/ind05prolog.htm. October 28, 2005. mdy-all.
  5. Web site: Foster Hewitt. January 6, 2008. Hockey Hall of Fame. Legends of Hockey.
  6. News: Committee Approves Waiver for Gretzky . April 30, 1999 . January 6, 2008. The New York Times.
  7. News: February 12, 1947. Hockey Moguls Honoring Veteran Clapper Tonight. 18. Ottawa Citizen.
  8. News: Stein Is Scratched as N.H.L. Immortal. August 19, 1993. Lapointe, Joe . January 10, 2008 . The New York Times.
  9. News: Eagleson Resigns Under Pressure . March 26, 1998. Lapointe, Joe. January 10, 2008. The New York Times.